Higher Ed

Student government leaders of the undersigned colleges and universities write to Congress on the urgent need to address the skyrocketing price of textbooks, and a request to create a national open textbook pilot grants program in the FY18 appropriations bill.

Joined by Senators Al Franken (D-MN) and Angus King (I-ME), Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin reintroduced a bill titled “Affordable College Textbook Act” to “expand the use of open college textbooks" with PIRG Higher Education Advocate Kaitlyn Vitez.

Today, 576 organizations and institutions of higher education sent a letter to Congress asking them to protect federal student aid as they finish up FY17 appropriations and start working on FY18. U.S PIRG worked in a large coalition representing students, institutions, educators, advocates, and employers to draft and circulate the letter of support. The letter comes after calls by President Trump to cut the Pell grant reserve by a combined $5.2 billion in FY17 and FY18 and multiple proposals in Congress to cut a portion of the Pell grant reserve.

Rutgers University and the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG) Students have been working in conjunction to help lower the financial burden of college students. Over the two years the program has been running, $1.6 million has been saved by students."

Food insecurity – the lack of reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food – is common at colleges and universities across the country, potentially undermining the educational success of untold thousands of students.